The most powerful 11 inch laptop in the world

I never intended this to be a gaming review as I haven’t been a regular gamer since after I graduated from college and started working to pay the bills. But I am an avid movie watcher and I do a lot of photo and video editing. So my criteria for a laptop, since I also like to take my work wherever I go, is one that is light and powerful enough for photo and video editing. I’ve experimented with business and multimedia laptops and in all the years I’ve always, always, been disappointed. I’ve tried my hands on Apple, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo (formerly IBM), Sony and Toshiba, and hand in heart I can say in all honesty I can get my work done but I have time spare to watch TV, eat a meal or snack, and in a few cases take a shower (too much info?).

Then I read about Alienware computers – machines built from the ground up for serious gamers. The distinctive “sci-fi” styling, reminding us that we are not alone, together with the flashing logo/ keyboard and what looks like front headlights of the batmobile, give Alienware machines an eerie look if left alone in the dark.

I got a chance to try out the smallest gaming laptop on the planet courtesy of Ogilvy PR in Hong Kong. I was surprised at the simplistic packaging the laptop came in. I was even more surprised at the heft (2 kg) this tiny 11.25″ x 9.19″ x 1.29″ came in with. The magnesium-alloy chassis looks and feels thicker making the business-standard Thinkpad look like a plastic toy in comparison. I actually thought that Alienware machines were built from slabs of steel.

What I Like
Honestly, I didn’t like the keyboard when I saw it on photos. I still didn’t like it when I looked at a unit at the Dell display store in Wanchai. But after spending some time typing and banging away, I just had to shut up. The individual keys hold a traditional shape that is slightly curved in the middle of each key. Key spacing is quite good and each key has the perfect amount of feedback with minimal side travel. Some nights I had to work with the lights out in the bedroom and the LED backlit with transparent key frame were a blessing. You have to be a Trekker to appreciate the futuristic font look of the key labels. More importantly, the support frame beneath the keyboard is rock solid.

For an 11 incher, the Alienware MX11 R3 doesn’t skimp on ports (My work laptop a Dell E4310 has one USB 2.0 and a USB/e-sata combo port). It comes with one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, FireWire, a 3-in-1 media card slot, Ethernet, standard audio jack, and two video out options: HDMI and DisplayPort.

What I Don’t Like
Apart from the hefty size-to-weight (pound for pound this is a heavy machine), it also gets reasonably hot underneath despite the backlit fan (very quiet) which tries to desperately cool down the machine. I don’t want to speculate what the laptop would feel like without the fan.

Some reviewers pounce on the glossy display which makes it very difficult to read the screen in the outdoors but you can correct this with one of those anti-glare screen protectors which most laptop owners do anyway to protect their investments. Of course you have to taper it a bit since the overall shape of the display is not exactly rectangular. A more serious problem might be the very narrow viewing sweet spot on the MX11. If you move your head just a little bit you won’t see an completely black screen during dark scenes in a game (also applies when video or photo editing!).

I know this is a gaming machine but why did Alienware decide to be stingy with the Synaptics touchpad? Yes the honeycomb textured surface makes for smooth, controlled finger movement and the buttons are responsive but it’s very small! Note to Alienware engineers – checkout the Macbook Air and learn!

One Other Thing
The MX11 comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home 64-bit. But the truly important software is the Command Center. The clearly laid out and intuitive user interface allows the case illumination to be adjusted (AlienFX), as well as configuring the power options (AlienFusion), and the touchpad (AlienTouch).

Rumour has it that optical drives are on the way out. Apple appears to spearhead this drive with recent hardware releases missing optical drives. I actually thought the MX11 would have a slot loading drive. But it doesn’t. Do I need one? I actually rarely use the optical drive on my E4310 but it is handy on those occasions when I need to install software from disc, watch a DVD from a disc, or burn a DVD. But I can’t say I’ll be willing to pay extra for it.

The 15″ and 17″ siblings of the MX11 have twin vents on the front of the laptop which is part of the cooling system. I really don’t understand why Alienware technicians decided to forego this feature on the MX11. Maybe it’s an internal design constraint?

Did I mention that the battery is built-in? Laptop aficionados might scowl at this but compared to Apple, Dell understands that the battery is user replaceable. The MX11 has a single massive cover panel for the battery, hard drive, wireless cards and memory slots and uses eight standard Phillips screws for easy disassembly. Current Apple laptops are 100% non-user replaceable so that Apple can charge you a steep price for additional memory or to replace your battery or hard drive. How is that for customer friendly design? Alienware even designed the screws with retention clips so they don’t fall out when unscrewing. Something Steves and Co might want to think about if it truly cares what customers think. Fat chance!

Most reviews I’ve seen of the MX11 point to an odd approach taken with the Klipsch speakers. The downward-firing drivers located on the bottom front end means that the sound can be muffled if you put your laptop on a flat surface. Alienware engineers did include two small sound channels into the chassis to redirect sound forward through the two decorative LED panels on the front but for my money this is not good enough. Of course I shouldn’t complain since most other laptops use tiny speakers making it almost mandatory to keep a pair of headsets ready for those odd moments when you want to listen to music, watch a video or hold a conference call via Skype. MX11 designers included two headphone jacks!

Would I buy an MX11 as my permanent laptop? Pound for pound, the MX11 is true value for money. You get the power typically found in larger, heavier and more expensive machines, yes even against Apple, at a much lower price point. Bravo Dell for finally making Alienware the gaming machine for the masses.

TECH SPEC (At a Glance):
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2617M 1.5GHz (2.6GHz w/Turbo Boost, 4MB Cache)
Operating: System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit Multi-Language (Traditional Chinese / English)
Display: 11.6″ (29.5cm) WLED HD (720p) display (WXGA 1366X768)
Graphics: Dual graphics with Intel HD Graphics 3000 and 2.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
Memory: 8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (upgradeable to 16GB)
Hard Drive: 750GB 7500RPM (upgradeable to 256GB SSD)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, 375 Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, integrated SIM card port
Camera: 2.0 Megapixel Camera with dual digital microphones
Battery: 8-cell
Price: HK$11,999 (USD1,548)

Other Review:
Compreviews: http://compreviews.about.com/od/PC-Gaming-Laptops/fr/Alienware-M11x-Spring-2011.htm
Notebook Check: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Alienware-M11x-R3-Gaming-Notebook.51236.0.html
Alienware Video Review

 

Getting an Edge with Lenovo

Back in the days when IBM still had a personal computer division, the Thinkpad series (first released in 1992) were targeted at mid- to large enterprises that wanted transportable computers that were rugged, asthetic and had the computing power needed to run most business applications. The classic Thinkpad designed has remained largely unchained over the years. However, the business dynamics of enterprises have changed. Economic downturns and the need for greater cost control have led managers to agree to use other brands as long as they did the job.

This changed in the perception among business executives is one of the reasons why Dell and HP successfully penetrated the enterprise despite being considered of inferior design and manufacture (to date, I still hear executives swear they will never use either brand with reliability cited as the most common reason).

When Lenovo bought the PC division from IBM, the Chinese company (in China they were known as Legend) decided to keep what it saw was a ‘winning’ design formula in the Thinkpad. Lenovo launched less the less pricy, 3000 series to target small businesses as well as consumers. The 3000 (C, N and V) series was eventually discontinued and giving rise to the Ideapad series with a much better aesthetic formfactor to meet a more design-conscious market. The Thinkpad family continued to be sold at a premium and despite new technology and materials, the external design remained the same – staid, boxy, heavy and black. Most executives I see carried their Thinkpad on a carry-case with wheels (that should tell you something).

If Apple Computer were to be credited with changing industry perception about personal computers is that you don’t have to be drab (dressed in black) to be productive, efficient and business-like. In fact you can be all of these and also be cool.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010, Lenovo decided to give the Thinkpad a facelift. The first two models to come off the show floor were the Thinkpad X100e and the Thinkpad Edge. The X100e is the first netbook for the business executive. I’ve read a number of very positive reviews about the X100e and so did my own review when I was handed the new netbook for a few days of handholding. True to its legacy, the X100e is a laptop with the business executive in mind. It carried everything you ever needed from your laptop at netbook prices. There were only two things I didn’t like about the X100e – weight (it was heavy at 1.36 kg) and the processor that came with the test unit was and AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 was not as energy efficient as the Intel Atom processors (of course the AMD chip has more compute horsepower compared to its Intel counterpart).

In the conventional laptop category, Lenovo launched the Thinkpad Edge, a 13.3″ laptop sporting a new body and new keyboard, while retaining the Thinkpad tradition of rugged, solid design.